Carbondale Police Chief Fired

Carbondale, Ill. – Jody O’Guinn is no longer the police chief in Carbondale.

City Manager Kevin Baity made the announcement Monday morning. Baity says in a press release the decision to remove O’Guinn from his post “has nothing to do with the unsolved cases or recent litigation.”

O’Guinn has come under fire since his tenure began in 2009 for, among other things, the way the department has handled the death investigations of Molly Young in March 2012 and Pravin Varughese in February.

A gun belonging to O’Guinn was stolen in 2011. That gun was used in the murder of woman later that year.

Baity says Deputy Chief Jeff Grubbs will serve as interim police chief. There is no timetable for a permanent successor.